Cancer treatment is finished! Now life can return to normal! Or can it? And why should acupuncturists be interested?
An article by Beverley de Valois PhD LicAc FBAcC MBLS
Thanks to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment, more people are surviving longer after a cancer diagnosis. Today, half of people diagnosed with cancer can expect to survive their disease for at least 10 years, often longer. Cancer is now regarded as a chronic, rather than a terminal, disease. This is good news.
However, the end of cancer treatment does not necessarily signal a return to good health. Cancer survivors report poorer health and wellbeing than people who have not had cancer; many suffer chronic consequences of cancer and its treatments. Some may also develop new symptoms many years after treatment has ended. These long-term and late consequences of treatment may be physical, emotional, and may impact quality of life. Survivorship has been described as “being disease-free, but not free of your disease.”
Examples of some of the many consequences include physical issues such as chronic pain (including chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy, and joint and muscle pains associated with aromatase inhibitors), hot flushes and night sweats, lymphoedema, fatigue, and sleep disorders. Emotional consequences include fear of recurrence, anxiety, depression as well as isolation and loss of confidence. Social and professional roles may be affected. Late effects of cancer treatment include potential development of new primary cancers, heart disorders, and other serious conditions.
What does this have to do with acupuncture?
In nearly 25 years of research into supporting people who have completed cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy), I have observed how acupuncture can help them to recover and renew their lives and adjust to the “new normal”. Acupuncture can and should be considered part of the multi-disciplinary care of cancer survivors. It has the capacity to address complex presentations commonly seen in this patient group: survivors report 3-13 consequences of cancer and experience more co-morbidities than comparable non-cancer populations, in addition to pre-existing conditions and the health issues that arise with ageing.
Acupuncture offers a non-pharmacological option for managing both physical and emotional conditions, often within the same treatment. This is important because many of the consequences of cancer treatment have limited options for biomedical treatment. Additionally, many cancer survivors do not wish to take further medications, and non-pharmacological options for managing pain are especially welcome in the age of the opioid crisis.
Improving our approach to caring for cancer survivors
Acupuncturists should be aware of the consequences of cancer treatment and how these affect any patient coming for acupuncture who has a history of cancer. Understanding the broader context of cancer survivorship enables a more profound approach to treatment.
My book Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship: Recovery, Renewal and Transformation, is the first peer-reviewed, evidence-based book on this subject. It gives practitioners insight into the issues of cancer survivorship, and features:
- Perspectives In it, I examine the issues of cancer survivorship from both biomedical and east Asian medicine approaches.
- Evidence I present the research that has been conducted into using acupuncture and moxibustion to address many of the issues of survivorship.
- Case studies Detailed case studies illustrate the issues that cancer survivors face – both in the immediate period after cancer treatment ends and many years later. These studies illustrate how acupuncture can help, as well as the challenges faced by cancer survivors.
- Protocols and treatment tips This book is written for acupuncturists working within any theoretical framework (TCM, Five Element, physiotherapy, etc) to enable them to feel confident when treating survivors post-cancer treatment. I share tried and tested approaches from my extensive clinical and research experience, with honest discussions about the challenges arising for both practitioners and patients.
With an estimated 12 million cancer survivors in Europe, there is a great need for treatment options to address the consequences of cancer treatment. Acupuncture can be a valuable contributor to meeting this need for care. In over two decades of research and practice, I have heard many cancer survivors say, “Acupuncture has given me my life back”.
Find here information about the book:
Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship
Recovery, Renewal and Transformation
Beverley de Valois, PhD LicAc FBAcC MBLS, is a practising acupuncturist in the UK, where she studied at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine. She is a distinguished researcher of acupuncture for the supportive care of people living with and beyond cancer at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in the UK’s National Health Service. For nearly 25 years she has been a Research Acupuncturist / Researcher in Integrative Medicine in the Supportive Oncology Research Team and has conducted several pioneering studies into using acupuncture to manage the consequences of cancer treatments. Beverley is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, and a Fellow of the British Acupuncture Council. She chaired the British Lymphology Society Scientific Committee from 2017-2020. She has many publications in scientific journals, and lectures internationally.
